Beloved Actors Who've Starred in Terrible Movies

The thing most people don’t realize about being an actor is that it is, above all else, a job. Maybe folks like Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron aren’t punching a clock every morning, but they have to pay the bills somehow. That’s usually why you see good actors in bad movies. One of the positives that can come out of your favorite thespian appearing in an awful film is that you’ll usually hear a good story about their miserable experience, although some good actors in bad films keep their lips sealed, either out of respect for the production or because they just don’t care. Keep reading if you want to find out why some of the industry's most beloved actors have appeared in some terrible movies.

One of the biggest reasons you see great actors in bad movies is because houses don’t buy themselves. Think about it, if you were offered an ungodly sum of money to act like a doofus with Adam Sandler you’d probably do it, right? If you answered no to that question, you have more self-respect than Al Pacino (but he has a lot more money than you do). It’s easy to hate on actors who choose to make terrible films, but remember, they’re just trying to work like everyone else - even if their job is wearing a bat suit with latex nipples.

Vote up the best actors who’ve starred in the worst films and leave a comment about the worst movie your favorite actor has made.

Robert De Niro spent most of his career building up goodwill with iconic roles in films like Mean Streets and Taxi Driver, but you don't pay the bills with "You talkin' to me?" No, you pay the bills by hitting "a new low."

In an attempt to seemingly rid the world of every memory of films like Heat, The Godfather, and Serpico, Al Pacino appeared in what might be the worst Adam Sandler movie (it has a 3% rating on Rotten Tomatoes). While Pacino has never discussed his appearance in the film, he actually received really good reviews.

Jeremy Irons is a classical actor who's tread the boards in everything from Macbeth to Richard II. But the one performance he probably wishes he could remove from his CV is the film adaptation of the world's most popular tabletop game, Dungeons & Dragons. When asked why he would be in such a terrible movie, Irons was incredibly honest and said "Are you kidding? I'd just bought a castle, I had to pay for it somehow!"

Photo: Green Lantern (2011)/Warner Bros/Amazon It's possible that no actor on this list is as bummed about their horrible film as Ryan Reynolds is about The Green Lantern. Not only does he rip into the film in his massive hit Deadpool, but when asked to rank the film on a scale of one to 10 he said, "I would give it a scant... 4? Yeah, 3 or 4? ONE! IT'S A ONE!"